Super snacks for the Super Bowl

LITTLE ROCK — It is the pinnacle of the pigskin, the supernova of sport, the finale of the football season - the Super Bowl.

In the U.S., the Super Bowl is not just another sporting event; it is practically another American holiday. In some ways, the Super Bowl has some distinct advantages over the recent holiday season - no gifts exchanged, no annoying relatives or nerve-racking travel schedule. Instead, the Super Bowl is all about football, friends, food and fun.

Everyone gets a day pass from any New Year’s diet resolutions to enjoy the abundance of dips, snacks, pizza and wings. That day, according to some national statistics on About.com, game watchers dip 14,500 pounds of chips into 8 million pounds of guacamole, and all those snacks result in 6 percent of the workforce calling in sick on Monday. Surely, they help account for the 20 percent increase in antacid sales that weekend.

These recipes will help you join in the fun. Instead of wings, the Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip is a hearty fan favorite that gets its zip from the hot sauce and a pleasing crunch from the celery. If you want to tone down the heat, a mild wing sauce can be substituted with excellent results. If you have time, freshly grated cheese is preferable to pre-shredded, which is treated with a cellulose substance to keep it from clumping during transportation and its time on the shelf. While the cellulose doesn’t change the flavor, it does cause melted cheese to be more susceptible to hardening.

The Touchdown Taco Treats are great one-bite appetizers that are like mini taco salads. Add or subtract condiments such as green onions, choose your sauce preference and favorite cheese, and substitute chicken for the beef or anything else to suit your taste. Just don’t make any substitution for the Tostitos chips.

Their shape is uniquely suited to this fun snack.

Pretzels have been a snacking companion to cold beer for ages. Combining them into a candy may not seem like a logical step, but it is one of genius.

The caramel is made with one bottle of beer, or ale, part of which is added directly into the caramel, with the other part reduced down to a concentrated teaspoon that takes the place of something like vanilla extract.

The salty-sweet combination will score points with your family and guests.

Whether you are a Patriots fan, love the Giants or will just watch for the commercials (just$3.5 million for a 30-second spot), these recipes will definitely put a check in the “win” column.

BUFFALO CHICKEN CHEESE DIP Ingredients: 2-3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds), poached and shredded 1 12-ounce bottle buffalo wing sauce, Frank’s Red Hot preferred 2 8-ounce blocks cream cheese, softened 1 16-ounce bottle prepared ranch dressing 3 ribs celery, diced 2 cups Cheddar or Mexican cheese, shredded fine Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a lightly greased 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking pan, combine the shredded chicken and entire bottle of Frank’s sauce, spreading to form an even layer. Combine the cream cheese and entire bottle of ranch dressing in a medium saucepan, stirring over medium heat until smooth and hot. Pour the mixture evenly over the chicken mixture. Sprinkle celery evenly over all and bake uncovered for 20 minutes. Top with the shredded cheese and bake for another 20 minutes uncovered or until bubbly. (Don’t let the top get too browned, or the cheese will harden.) Remove from the oven, and let stand for 10 minutes. Serve with celery stalks, sturdy tortilla chips or corn-chip dippers.

TOUCHDOWN TACO TREATS Ingredients: 1 can refried beans 1/2 pound ground beef 1 package taco seasoning 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese 1 cup salsa 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 cup sliced black olives 1 package Tostitos Scoops tortilla chips Directions:

Prepare beef as advised on seasoning packet. Drain grease. Set aside. Set tortilla cups on tray. Layer with beans, seasoned beef, cheese and salsa, and top with an olive slice. Like little taco salads!

ALE AND PRETZEL SOFT CARAMELS Ingredients: 1 12-ounce bottle of ale, divided (better to use a darker beer - pilsner or ale) 2 cups granulated sugar 1 cup light-brown sugar 1 cup unsalted butter 1 cup heavy cream 1 cup light corn syrup About 15 pretzel rods Wax paper, for wrappingDirections:

In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of the ale to a simmer and cook until reduced and syrupy, about 20 minutes. This will yield about 1 teaspoon of concentrated ale flavoring. Set aside.

Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking pan or two 9-by-9-inch pans. Combine the remaining beer, both sugars, the butter, heavy cream and corn syrup in a heavy 4- or 5-quart pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. The butter will melt, and the mixture will begin to boil.

Continue to cook until a candy thermometer reaches 244 degrees (firm ball stage). When the correct temperature has been reached, stir in the ale reduction and remove from the heat. Pour into the prepared pan(s) and top with the pretzel rods.

Let cool for several hours or place in the refrigerator until firm. (If refrigerated, let sit at room temperature for about 20 minutes.) Remove the caramel block from the pan and place pretzel-side up on a cutting board. Cut wax paper into 5-by-5-inch squares, cut pretzel rods into 2-3 inch pieces, fold caramel around sides of pretzel to make ends meet and wrap caramels in wax paper.

Note: Caramels must be wrapped, or they will lose their shape.

River Valley Ozark, Pages 59 on 02/02/2012

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